Too Many Books

I've been reading a lot about adoption, and have started to wonder if these books will "help" me as much as all the relationship books did in preparing me for marriage.

This is an excerpt from Front Porch Tales By Phillip Gulley. I'm not even sure if I picked this up at the thrift store, someone left it at my house, or where I got it...but I'm getting some laughs out of it. :)


"Before our first child was born, my wife and I read several books about parenting. When Spencer arrived, we discovered just how useful those books can be, particularly for chewing on."

"[My mother] had just read a book about parenting and was eager to share her knowledge. Spencer, then two years old, threw a tantrum while mom was with us. I hadn't slept for two days, and after an hour of crying-mine, not his-I gave Spencer what he wanted. 'Boy, that was a mistake,' Mom warned. and she proceeded to tell me that if Spencer gets what he wants by throwing a fit, there's not telling where he'll end up. 'Probably in Congress,' I told her."

"She advised us to have baby Sam lie on his back to prevent crib death. But someone else said they should lie on their stomachs for the same reason. So to be safe, I built a rotisserie crib."

"The worst advice we received was from a man who told us that holding our baby would spoil him. Obviously, he didn't understand how babies require the intimacy that cuddling provides. Besides, cuddling babies is fun and almost makes up for what our children do to us as teenagers."

[When we give advice], "it isn't that we think we know more than the parents. It's mostly about lending a hand with something as neat as raising a child. it's the same principle behind planting a tree. Twenty years later, we come upon it and delight that we had a part in its growing."